Tamil Nadu: A sum of Rs428 crore in cash and precious metals has been seized from Tamil Nadu ahead of its polls scheduled to initiate from tomorrow. Election commission reported total cash seizure stands at ₹ 225.5 crore while precious metals, including gold, accounts for ₹ 176.11 crore. Liquor was also seized during the raids.
Chennai and several other areas were raided ahead of the polls. The state’s Chief Electoral Officer today said that “Karur tops in seizures, with Coimbatore, Tirupur and Chennai following suit. Following the raid, patrolling across the state has been re-enforced in the past 24 hours. Rs 91.56 Lakh cash was retrieved from Ranipet, Rs 1.23 crore in Thousand lights constituency in Chennai and ₹ 1.15 crore at Veerapandi in Salem.
In a media statement the EC said,” The last 72 hours to the polls are extremely sensitive from a expenditure standpoint. Towards this, round the clock surveillance along with CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) teams has been taken up.”
The press release by the EC also stated the identification of 105 expenditure sensitive constituencies in the state. 118 Expenditure Observers have also been drafted to monitor expenditure by candidates and political parties.
Previously, the IT department has reported a seizure of unaccounted cash of over Rs 16 crore and detected black income of about ₹ 80 crore after raids on multiple entities in the state as a part of the election surveillance.